Official Oregon Back Country Discovery 2015 Thread

[ROVRMAN2]

Paper or Plastic(vinyl)? I'll take either.

[LandRonB]

Proposed fuel stops:

 

Oregon2015.pdf

 

Fred Meyer in Bend is last big box store to pickup groceries, supplies etc.

Thanks Rupert for putting the fuel stop plans together;

 

Since 1951 Oregonians have relied on gas station attendants to fill-up their tanks, so folks here are the do's and don'ts when getting fuel in Oregon:

 

Don't:

-Pump your own gas. It's actually against the State law in Oregon (New Jersey is the other state). Let the attendant do it.

-Touch the pumps. It’s also against the law. Don't even think of doing a selfie holding the pump!

-Get out of your vehicle and “supervise†the fueling. It's not against the law to watch, but if you start telling the attendant

what to do, you might, delay us all.

-Ask the attendant to put fuel into anything other than an approved gas can. Red (gasoline) and yellow or green (diesel):

http://www.orosha.org/resource-newsletter/2012/10-2012/10-2012AskTech.html#.VXJeSEZCg5I

 

Do's:

-Know what side your gas tank is on; most stations won’t pull their hoses around your car to reach it.

-Roll down your window, turn off your engine, and turn your music down. Tell the attendant your fuel order, and pop the fuel door open.

-Pull your fuel cans, and put them on the ground (two words, "no static") next to the pump if you want the attendant to fill them up.

-Smile - you're on vacation

 

And stickers ordered in durable 3"x5" 4mil thick clear vinyl using water and UV resistant ink; $5 each including tax and shipping.

Will be waiting for us when we get back; badge of honor sort to speak. Looking forward to our trip.

[ROVRMAN2]

Aww, hoping it was opaque background to hide the scratches

[BEAR]

We want stickers too! Can't wait to start working on the car

[LandRonB]

Rovers Relief into Action

 

Since the City of Weed is one of our fuel stops, we can be part of a post disaster relief effort along the way

to our trip in Oregon on Saturday June 13. Do you all remember the Boles Fire (City of Weed) last Sept 2014?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles_Fire; Burned 479 acres destroying 150 residential homes and many other structures,

and forced many people out of their homes.

 

A bit of background, we tried to collect canned goods and used clothing donations last year as part of our club

disaster relief effort and some of the club members were even willing to drive up there; much needed initially

and the City of Weed received a lot of donations and support from other communities for the next several months

and eventually asked donors to hold off on the canned goods/clothes (too much of them) including from us. All good!

 

Here's an opp for us. Post disaster, the City has had the chance to get organized and assess where they need the most

help. I am working with Debbie Thompson, one of the chair members of the Weed Long Term Recovery Group Resources

Committee. She and I talked about how our club can help them with the following two programs:

 

1) In conjunction with working Habitat for Humanities, they are building 3 homes for eligible families impacted

by the fire; received funding for 1st home and could use tools and material donations for the other 2 homes; even

small items that we can carry and drop off along the way such box of sheet rock screws, nails, e.g. basic items and

tools e.g. hammer, measuring tape (volunteers of Habitat for Humanities can use them) will be needed and appreciated.

 

2) Siskiyou Food Assistance (SFA) serves Boles Fire survivors as well as other low income persons in the area.

SFA Food could use nonperishable food donations and if we have canned tuna, soup and broth, marinara and

other pasta sauces, fruit and vegetables; and non-sugared cereals (Cherrio, Shredded Wheat, etc.) and snacks

like plain crackers will be much appreciated.

 

We can combine making a positive impact to communities and our personal enjoyment of the outdoors and our

Land Rovers. Hence the birth of Rovers Relief. With this said, if you are going on this trip and interested

in dropping off donated items for project 1 & 2, and tell what those are, that would be great. Also we have a very own

Bear, a fire fighter, going on this trip who probably share with you the devastating impact of fire to victims and its

communities.

 

And if you are not able to join us and would like to help, I can make room in my truck for small items for

project #1 and non-perishable canned goods. Meet you either at Mexxis (let me know before Saturday), or I will be

working in San Jose (Tuesdays) and San Francisco (Wednesday) and can meet you downtown.

 

Personally, I rather donated to a local charity or directly to a group w/a mission (vs larger organizations

fund raising efforts which I find disappointing and suspicious if you ask me e.g. American Red Cross efforts in Haiti

for example). Two years ago, a few of us got together, and put a dinner fundraiser for the Land Rover Club of the

Philippines (LRCP) to benefit the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. LRCP used the funds to cover fuel cost for delivering

donated goods from Manila and once in Tacloban (ground zero) help transport goods otherwise would have sat in warehouses.

See pics 1-4.

 

Last year on our way to Mulege Baja Mexico, we stopped in San Francisco De La Sierra and dropped off used

clothes, canned goods and reading glasses to families living in the remote area. In fact one of our guest

Alex will be joining us from Baja Land Rover Club in Mexico. See pics 6-9.

 

This year we are helping our our neighbors in California the City of Weed (pics 10-13 from last year's disaster).

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Ron Boston

[Michal C]

Ron - a fantastic idea!!! I have a whole tool box that I could donate. Recently upgraded to a bigger set more useful for my landy and have a complete (98%) large craftsman tool kit that I could donate. Will bring it on the trip with me.

 

 

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[LandRonB]

Also we have to keep in mind the time; s/b try to be at Big Lake a few hours before sunset; a few hours of light to setup tents for

others. For me and my son, will only need 1/2 hr tops to setup our RTT.

 

Working on the time backwards:

 

To be at Big Lake Campground by 5pm, need to leave the City of Weed including w/a fuel stop and drop off donations no later than noon.

Est miles/time from Weed to Big Lake is about 253 miles or 4 hrs 30 mins + 30 mins fuel stop in Bend.

 

So we want to meet-up in Weed at the donation drop-off (address to be provided soon) between 11am-noon.

 

Which means for me, I have to leave my house by 6:30am with a quick fuel stop in Red Bluff to make it to Weed by 11am.

[Michal C]

Is there a gpx file(s) for this trip or a map overview? I am trying to download maps to my Gaia and don't really know the route

 

 

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[LandRonB]

Here are the GPS pts from my Garmin for our campgrounds (7 of them from Big Lake to Doris, CA = green camp symbol,

and camp itinerary Sunday and last point (Doris, CA) for Friday before we all head back to home.

 

Upload it to your GPS so you have the camp destinations points and will use the route 3 maps to get us thru.

 

In general, we are driving from North to South or Big Lake Campground in Oregon to Doris, CA (along Hwy 97 and

other highways (see pic 3)). Started to enter all the gps points in the entire route 3 but with the map we should

be fine!

 

Speaking of maps, we scanned the entire Route 3 (55+ pages on color topo style maps) w/gps pts in PDF. It's 128mb and our

NCLR site's max is 64mb so I can't attached it. For the PDF copy, I will ask Jared to send the link to you all

via Google doc where its uploaded and able to accommodate the large file size. You can download it in your

tablet or laptop computer or print a copy for yourself. Pls PM him your email address.

 

As much as I like to trust our electronics, made several hard copies of the colored maps (all 55 pages ea) to

hand-out during our driver's meeting Saturday - color printer got a work out for sure!

 

Crunch time - time to get the truck ready!

Oregon Camp Grounds.gpx

Oregon 2015 - Lodging.pdf

[LandRonB]

Speaking of crunch time.

 

Decided to take the 04 DII; it's already outfitted w/a RTT and wired for the fridge; just need to do maint

prep and hit the grocery store. Sounds easier said than done (lots of work still to do).

 

Reminder everyone: please carry a full size spare, and bring a min of 2 gas cans. Our last reliable fuel stop will be in Bend, OR

on Saturday, and next fuel stop is not till Hyatt Lake campground on Thursday. Jared is checking on avail water in all

our planned campground accommodations; just in case, bring 1 gallon of drinking water per person per day.

 

Yesterday was all about fluid and gear oil changes.

 

I did the "Graeme" way of changing power steering fluid; has never been changed and I don't have time to do it

the regular way; Graeme's way takes 5 mins and got 80-90% of the dirty old fluid.

 

Gathered spares; theme is not let the DII overheat. A new radiator and hoses were put 2 yrs

ago before the Baja Trip, but just in case, I am bringing spare T-stat, hose repair kit, and extra gallons of coolant.

 

And the spares I normally carry are: drive belts, bulbs, fuses, brake light switch, relay, tire lug nuts, etc....

 

Worked on the truck till late night and final fun touch is adding the disco ball in the Discovery

 

DII owners (Allyson/Ulysses), anyone bringing spare front drive shaft, and coolant expansion tank?

 

Today, working on final touches on the routes, GPS, etc... updating my maps

 

Like to do a conference call something 6-7pm after dinner before our Saturday to discuss routes, fueling, food, etc...

and Q&A; anyone interested?

[AlysonH]

I don't have a spare drive shaft or coolant expansion tank. Do I need to bring these?

[El Solis]

Really?? Yeah you are gonna want those. Also make sure you have a CV joint, head gasket, spare transmission, water pump, and I presume you are towing your parts truck with you as well right? Joke only. I don't have a Disco but good spares to have for most trucks are radiator hoses, fan belts(or serp belt if that's how you roll, some coolant, some oil, power steering fluid, brake fluid, diff oil, and the list goes on and on. Hopefully some Disco owners will chime in with what they carry. My CT has way too much stuff but it helps me sleep at night. For the LR4 I'm bringing some engine oil, the GAP tool, and Don. Anyone with an LR3/4 please also chime in if I need to bring something.

[Disco2Guy]

If you think your coolant tank is suspect, get it replaced before the trip. If you see the tank starting to separate at the Cold Level seam, or orange crustiness around any of the hoses, replace it. One of the weakest points is the nipple on the bottom of the tank with the hose that goes across the engine. My old tank suffered from both of these conditions, only finding about the lower nipple when the tank was removed, it just broke off after a slight bump.

 

If you don't have spare hoses, at least get a roll (or two) of silicone repair tape. You can almost double it's length by stretching it (this also helps the tape to bond to itself), and be sure to overlap each wrap by about 50%. I did a repair job to someones busted rad hose on the Playa and used zip ties every couple of inches as a reinforcement until it bonded well enough.

 

The front drive shaft should always be on your spares list, though you have to coordinate about the rear and who has done the 4 bolt conversion vs. keeping the roto flex coupling.

 

If you can't remember when a certain fluid has been changed, get it replaced. Diff fluids are easy to do yourself. You'll get to see the current state of the fluid as well as check the drain plugs for any unwanted metal chunks. Same with the engine oil. If you're near the time/mileage for an oil change, do it now. I use the K&N HP-3001 filter (larger than stock) but carry the Mobil1 M301 (stock size) in the spares kit. Since it's smaller, it saves a little room for other items. You'll also need the filter wrench and container to catch and transport the fluid. I try to carry enough oil to do a complete change on a big trip like this, but you should bring at least 2 qts., more if your engine burns through it. For coolant, carry at least one premixed gallon. If you can find it, buy it in the concentrated formula and dilute it yourself. It's only a couple bucks more than the premixed stuff, and you'll double the amount. Distilled is your safest bet for dilution, but any drinking water will work on the trail.

 

The serpentine belt should also be on your full time carry list (I actually have two old ones in the truck). If you don't have the RAVE manual (tsk, tsk) to see the routing, just be sure to get the grooves on the belt mated with the grooves on the pulleys, and the flat sides should match up as well.

[ndamico]

If you think your coolant tank is suspect, get it replaced before the trip. If you see the tank starting to separate at the Cold Level seam, or orange crustiness around any of the hoses, replace it. One of the weakest points is the nipple on the bottom of the tank with the hose that goes across the engine. My old tank suffered from both of these conditions, only finding about the lower nipple when the tank was removed, it just broke off after a slight bump.

 

If you don't have spare hoses, at least get a roll (or two) of silicone repair tape. You can almost double it's length by stretching it (this also helps the tape to bond to itself), and be sure to overlap each wrap by about 50%. I did a repair job to someones busted rad hose on the Playa and used zip ties every couple of inches as a reinforcement until it bonded well enough.

 

The front drive shaft should always be on your spares list, though you have to coordinate about the rear and who has done the 4 bolt conversion vs. keeping the roto flex coupling.

 

If you can't remember when a certain fluid has been changed, get it replaced. Diff fluids are easy to do yourself. You'll get to see the current state of the fluid as well as check the drain plugs for any unwanted metal chunks. Same with the engine oil. If you're near the time/mileage for an oil change, do it now. I use the K&N HP-3001 filter (larger than stock) but carry the Mobil1 M301 (stock size) in the spares kit. Since it's smaller, it saves a little room for other items. You'll also need the filter wrench and container to catch and transport the fluid. I try to carry enough oil to do a complete change on a big trip like this, but you should bring at least 2 qts., more if your engine burns through it. For coolant, carry at least one premixed gallon. If you can find it, buy it in the concentrated formula and dilute it yourself. It's only a couple bucks more than the premixed stuff, and you'll double the amount. Distilled is your safest bet for dilution, but any drinking water will work on the trail.

 

The serpentine belt should also be on your full time carry list (I actually have two old ones in the truck). If you don't have the RAVE manual (tsk, tsk) to see the routing, just be sure to get the grooves on the belt mated with the grooves on the pulleys, and the flat sides should match up as well.

While not going I like your spare parts suggestions. Is there a thread devoted to spare parts suggestions? Now that I have the rrc I'm going to start carrying more spares.

[Disco2Guy]

While not going I like your spare parts suggestions. Is there a thread devoted to spare parts suggestions? Now that I have the rrc I'm going to start carrying more spares.

Thanks Nick. I can copy this into a new thread in the Library section, someone else can start a D1/RRC/D90 and LR3/4.

[erinw.rrc]

Also we have to keep in mind the time; s/b try to be at Big Lake a few hours before sunset; a few hours of light to setup tents for

others. For me and my son, will only need 1/2 hr tops to setup our RTT.

 

Working on the time backwards:

 

To be at Big Lake Campground by 5pm, need to leave the City of Weed including w/a fuel stop and drop off donations no later than noon.

Est miles/time from Weed to Big Lake is about 253 miles or 4 hrs 30 mins + 30 mins fuel stop in Bend.

 

So we want to meet-up in Weed at the donation drop-off (address to be provided soon) between 11am-noon.

 

Which means for me, I have to leave my house by 6:30am with a quick fuel stop in Red Bluff to make it to Weed by 11am.

Ron,

 

Does this mean we are not meeting at Rupert's around lunch time?  Is our meeting point in Weed at 11:00 am?

 

What is our group designated meeting point before we cross the Oregon border and at what time does everyone need to be there?

 

-Erin

[AlysonH]

Really?? Yeah you are gonna want those. Also make sure you have a CV joint, head gasket, spare transmission, water pump, and I presume you are towing your parts truck with you as well right?

[Michal C]

Hi All - TrekNow has gpx files for purchase for all 5 OBCD Routes. Has anyone looked into this?

 

 

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[GraemeWare]

Really?? Yeah you are gonna want those. Also make sure you have a CV joint, head gasket, spare transmission, water pump, and I presume you are towing your parts truck with you as well right?

 

Chris,

 

That is only if your name is Tyler ....

 

Graeme

[El Solis]

That's true Graeme.

 

As for meet up, Michal and I will be in Dorris Friday night and I'll be monitoring 146.460 during the day. I figured the convoy would meet us there and we would just jump in line as the group rolls through.

[DHappel]

That's true Graeme.

 

As for meet up, Michal and I will be in Dorris Friday night and I'll be monitoring 146.460 during the day. I figured the convoy would meet us there and we would just jump in line as the group rolls through.

Michele and I are doing roughly the same thing.  We're heading out Friday and will be staying somewhere around Red Bluff that night...I'd tell you where but Michele is in charge of that - I just drive where she says to go.  We plan to just sort of merge with the group coming out of Rupert's place en-route.

[BEAR]

I don't have any jerry cans for spare fuel. should this be something I need to go buy at 4wheel parts or does anyone have a spare i can borrow? 

[Disco2Guy]

Bear, if you're in need and around SF some evening this week, you're more than welcome to borrow my NATO gas cans (I have 4 of them). You could store them inside the truck they seal well enough.

[Guest Pedram]

You can bring all your spares but you need a good mechanic to fix it. I typically bring all my tools. But one time I needed Graeme. Thanks Graeme for all the help. Sorry I'll be back at home on this trip.

 

I noticed Michal using TapatalkðŸ‘.

 

A few more days. Have fun everyone.

[LandRonB]

I don't have a spare drive shaft or coolant expansion tank. Do I need to bring these?

Hey Allyson, mine was rebuilt bu Bay Shore Trucking in Livermore.

 

LR made the driveshaft in our DII not serviceable. And it's close proximity to the catalytic converter tends to harden the grease

in time and just matter of time when it fails. In other words, the catalytic converter bakes all of the lubrication out of the shaft

and you can't add any more. The shaft will frequently break completely in half with very little warning and will usually knock a hole

in the side of your transmission.

 

I don't think you will have time to get your drive shaft re-built so I will bring a spare. Have it done if you have not already done

when you get back.